1. Field
The present invention relates to inflatable water toys and slides, and more specifically to inflatable water toys for use with a water slide.
2. State of the Art
For many years there has been on the market products generally referred to as xe2x80x9cSlip ""n Slidexe2x80x9d(trademark). The product consists of a piece of thin plastic approximately thirty-six inches wide by thirty-three feet long. The plastic lays flat on the ground and uses various means of keeping the plastic wet in order to maintain a slippery surface. The participant runs to one of the narrow ends of the plastic then slides on his or her stomach or seat as far as possible. Written prominently on the a sides of the boxes containing the product as purchased is a caution that the product is not for children over twelve years old or under five years old. This is due to the inherent danger of using the slide which is the transition from vertical run to the horizontal slide, which young people are able to do easily, but wherein older people who are taller and less flexible, stand a greater chance of sustaining an injury. Hence the warning, xe2x80x9cthis product is not for adults.xe2x80x9d
The present invention is a water play structure which comprises a cushioning slide for connection to an end of a garden hose. The cushioning slide includes a wedge-shaped inflatable body with a bottom surface to rest on a support surface, a downwardly sloped upper surface along which a user can slide from a top end to a bottom end thereof, and a water emitting device. The water emitting device is connectable to the garden hose for discharging water at the top end of the upper surface to flow down to the bottom end of the upper surface to lubricate the upper surface during sliding of the user therealong.
The water play structure can further include an elongate water slide made of thin sheet plastic for use with the inflatable wedge. The water slide has an elongate sliding surface bordered by a pair of elongate sides and a pair of narrow ends of a generally similar width to the body of the inflatable wedge. The water slide is used with the inflatable wedge by placing one of the narrow ends under the lower end of the wedge such that a user can slide down from the upper surface of the wedge onto and along said sliding surface. Water from the wedge lubricates the sliding surface for ease of sliding.
The water play structure can yet further include an inflatable sled for use with the water slide and the inflatable wedge. The inflatable sled includes an inflatable body having a base and an upper surface. The body has a generally rounded front and a rear with the base and the upper surface being interconnected by peripheral wall and a plurality of internal baffles to form a plurality of individual chambers which are inflatable and deflatable using an air valve affixed to the inflatable body.